The New Covenant

Concord University Convocation

Athens, West Virginia

October 26, 2004

Chairwoman Sayre, President Beasley, Platform Honorees, Friends.

Yesterday, Jo and I left dank Washington, drove west into the sunshine of a gorgeous fall, and we again marveled at the natural beauty of the Mountain State. It is a genuine pleasure to be in Athens to join in the celebration of Concord, the University. To have been asked to speak at this ceremonial occasion is an honor, and I have looked forward to this day.

Several years have passed since I visited this campus and walked midst the pines. That President Emeritus Joe Marsh is here this morning truly is a special treat for me. To see the remarkable progress made by this campus reflecting the vision and leadership of President Marsh, President Freeman, and President Beasley bespeaks of their and your affection and passion for Concord and the education of its students. You have so much of which to be proud.

Concord has a rich history. Its designation as a University represents not a transformation of purpose but a significant step toward the full realization of its historic mission. To place this day in chronological perspective, let us look back to the 18^th century, as our newfound nation struggled to exist under the Articles of Confederacy. Despite the difficulties of those years, momentous legislation was enacted. The Continental Congress, through the Ordinance of 1785 and the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, provided public lands to fund the establishment of public schools and stipulated in the Northwest Territories that public schools would be established in what we now know as the Midwest.

The motivation behind this landmark legislation to require public schools was to prevent religious orders from colonizing the new territory and establishing religious schools. Thomas Jefferson was determined to keep the clergy out of education, especially fearing the Presbyterians.

Of course, if there were to be public schools, there had to be teachers. And for half a century, male high school graduates filled that role. But then the tempest which for decades had tormented the new nation consummated in the Civil War—a conflagration, as you know, which led to statehood for West Virginia, also produced the stark necessity, especially in the new territories, to permit women to teach in these “common” schools. Simply stated, there were not enough men. Under these circumstances, a national movement arose—the establishment of “normal” schools to prepare teachers for the public schools. The legislature of this newly founded state in 1872 responded with the creation of normal schools for West Virginia—and Concord was born.

In the same timeframe, another movement began: the land-grant college. While public colleges had earlier been established in Georgia, South Carolina, and elsewhere, these institutions were modeled after their private, religiously-affiliated counterparts in New England. They existed for the privileged classes, not for the common people. But in the midst of the Civil War, Congress enacted and President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, which extended higher education to the sons and daughters of the working classes. The Morrill Act was groundbreaking in its support for the “liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions of life.”

From these two movements—the normal school and the land-grant college—has evolved public higher education. And here in the Mountain State no campus better reflects the convergence of citizen access and societal service than does Concord.

In the century after its founding, this institution—as sister normal schools throughout the country—developed into a state teacher college, and then a state college, reflecting growing expectations in society that its colleges expand their curricula and extend higher education’s promise to all citizens. Which, of course, brings us to the 21st century, and the legislation enacted by the West Virginia General Assembly which authorized Concord to award master’s degrees and changed its designation to a university. We need to view these enactments not as a bestowal of privilege or the conferral of status, but as a renewal of the covenant between Concord and the citizens of West Virginia. This new covenant offers opportunities, but it also imposes responsibilities. And as most things in life, opportunities are embedded in responsibilities, and responsibilities come with opportunity.

I would suggest to you that becoming a university entails three major responsibilities which will shape the work of the faculty and the character of Concord’s service to this state and region. These three (in my words) are: commitment to strengthening the professions, commitment to enhancing place, and commitment to emphasizing scholarship in teaching and learning. Indulge me as I speak of each of these responsibilities.

Colleges take great pride in the personal and professional successes recorded by their alumni. At the heart of our work are the learning experiences of our students. Society expects the college to prepare its graduates to enter into the work force, especially the professions. The university’s responsibility encompasses entry-level preparation but also extends to the continuing education of practitioners—and in a larger sense, the health and vitality of the profession itself. At research universities the master’s degree may be incidental to doctoral study; at teaching universities the master’s degree is an integral—and at times the seminal part of professional development for the practitioner—irrespective of whether that practitioner may be in education, social work, conservation, management or a host of professions important to our society.

As such the university assumes responsibility to strengthen these professions. Much as it is difficult to imagine the vibrancy of the legal profession without its interaction with schools of law, so should teaching universities explore how they can enhance the development of the professions built around their disciplinary offerings. Working with the professions is an opportunity and a responsibility.

Secondly, the University of the 21st century assumes expanded responsibility to be a steward of place, to be an active, engaged partner in the economic and social development of the region it serves. While all institutions pursue positive town-gown relationships and encourage faculty, staff and students to engage in community service, there is a distinction between the campus community being a good citizen, and the institution itself committing its resources to undertakings which enhance the quality of life in those places it serves. Assuming this responsibility requires serious analysis about how instructional programs, research activities, and human capital on the campus can be constructively engaged to make place matter. The nature of this engagement will vary from state to state, and among universities. Where? How? And to what extent? are questions that can only be answered by each campus.

What is important to note is that across the country the public now looks to the university as an intellectual resource to improve the lives of its citizens. While colleges in the 19th and a good part of the 20th century were viewed as a place apart from the community milieu, a place of seclusion—often behind ivied walls—the new covenant of the 21st century sees the campus as part of society, actively engaged in addressing contemporary issues.

The third major responsibility attendant being a university is a commitment to emphasizing scholarship in teaching and learning. The offering of graduate degrees, by definition, entails greater scholarship and creativity from the academy. The challenge facing the new university integrating scholarship into the teaching-learning process is creating synergy between faculty scholarship, undergraduate student research, and the professional development of practitioners—and focusing that synergy better to enable Concord University to fulfill its historic mission.

Permit me to move from abstraction to example, albeit a hypothetical one. As I earlier mentioned, the new covenant between the citizens of West Virginia and Concord University places upon the Concord University community the challenges of strengthening the professions, enhancing place, and emphasizing scholarship in student learning.

One example would be to engage a public school suffering from below average student scores in math and science, above average dropout rates, difficulties in retaining quality teachers, and criticism from civic and business leaders. To the community, improving public education is an imperative. To the university, an immense challenge. How can institutions as “Stewards of Place” become partners with the school and the community to develop a strategic plan to reverse school fortunes? How can faculty through their scholarship assess what needs to be done and evaluate the successes and failures of similar initiatives? How can this engagement be incorporated into the learning experiences of students—or better still, how can students (both graduate and undergraduate) be active participants in the initiative?

I raise these questions to illuminate a central theme: that becoming a university entails more than a name change. It signifies a renewed covenant between the people of West Virginia and Concord University.

We refer to ourselves as public universities. Perhaps more apropos would be President Abraham Lincoln’s reference to “the public’s universities.” We are creatures of the state, established to promote the common weal. We believe in access and affordability. We open the portals of opportunity—not only for individuals, but for all Americans. We nurture citizenship. We promote civic engagement—and Concord is well known for having implemented service learning and community building. We help our fellow citizens to solve problems through research—especially applied research focused on bringing probing analyses and good science to bear on issues facing society. We are partners with local, state, and the federal government—in the words of that old General Electric commercial: “To bring good things to life.”

Yet for all we do, there is much more left to be done. The economic upheavals in the 21st century are real and troubling. Economic globalization has resulted in a world without borders—a world where jobs pass effortlessly from one nation to another, where people stream across borders, often with the wink of an eye, where technological capacity for both good and evil is widely dispersed, where the concentration of wealth and power threatens the human rights we proudly acclaim and long took for granted.

In this new world order, the public’s universities remain a repository for good. It is here that ideas, both sound and goofy, and at times controversial, can be discussed openly and freely, where discourse is civil, where people seek the unvarnished truth rather than blindly accept distortions and dogma (both of which, I might add, are in abundance this election year.)

Yet at the end of the day, we know that our graduates must be prepared to understand this new world order, to master skills required for success, and to have the ethical compass and civic commitment to insure that our nation and its democratic traditions prevail in an unsettled world.

And to that end—and representing no political party—I hope everyone attending this convocation casts his or her vote next week. And I especially implore you students to fulfill your civic responsibilities. One of the most important lessons in a democracy is that irrespective of whether your candidate wins or loses, you win when you vote. Just stop for a moment and reflect on this presidential campaign. Have you ever wondered why the candidates fall all over themselves to assure the elderly that there will be no cuts in Social Security, no raising of the retirement age, no lessening of benefits—while at the same time no candidate has promised to raise the Pell grant to keep up with tuition costs? The answer is simple. Older people vote in large numbers; younger voters do not. In the 2000 election, the percentage of college graduates 25 and under who voted was less than the voting percentage of high school dropouts aged 65 and older. Have you ever wondered why established folks like me get big tax cuts, while younger generations get a ballooning national debt? Same answer.

To revitalize our democracy, to insure that government is responsive to all Americans, everyone needs to be civically engaged and to vote. You know Red Sox fans are still celebrating victory over their arch enemy. St. Louis fans were celebrating until two days ago. Today, the Concord community celebrates—and, hopefully, a week from today, all Americans will celebrate the renewal of our democracy.

For the last five years Washington has been my home. It is a great city. It is awe-inspiring. Every time I visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Viet-Nam Memorial, and the latest memorials honoring President Franklin D. Roosevelt and our World War II veterans, I am moved and am reminded of the sacrifices others made so that we can live in freedom and dignity. The memorial to Thomas Jefferson is a little different. It inspires me in my work, for no one better expressed why we have public education in our country—and why your and my work is so important—and why Concord University exists, and why today we reaffirm its historic promise. President Jefferson wrote:

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome direction, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education.

Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. I think by far the most important bill in our whole code, is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness.

We, America’s public universities, the universities of the people, the public’s universities, are that repository and public trust. On this day of celebration, we hail Concord and pray that its great service continues for many years to come.